program recipients are required to follow federal procurement guidelines when selecting contractors. Because most jurisdictions aren’t experienced with federal procurement policies, the process of getting contractors on board can become one of the biggest hurdles of disaster recovery. IBTS disaster CDBG-DR program experts, who have administered some of the largest programs in the country, assist… Read more
No matter how prepared and well practiced your locality is to handle post-disaster recovery, putting these plans into action amidst the disarray after a major natural disaster presents unforeseen challenges that put even the best-laid plans to the test. Below, the City of Central, Louisiana, shares some of the strategies they successfully implemented to work… Read more
High-performance infrastructure can not only mitigate the severity and cost of damages incurred from natural disasters, but it also attracts more diverse funding sources such as green bonds, catastrophe bonds, resilience bonds, and social impact bonds. This HUD fact sheet provides governments of all levels with a basic overview of innovative financing mechanisms available to… Read more
The Government of Puerto Rico is taking advantage of the opportunity to build back stronger and more resilient in the wake of Hurricane Maria’s devastating impact. Less than one year after Hurricane Maria made landfall in September 2017, the Government of Puerto Rico published this economic and disaster recovery plan to provide a framework for… Read more
A group of 10 International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and IBTS volunteers conducted service and governance assessments of Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities after Hurricane Maria. The assessment results were performed as part of the Puerto Rico Municipal Assessment Project and were published in RAND Corporation’s report, “Transformation and Innovation in the Wake of Devastation: An Economic and… Read more
IBTS Economic Development and Disaster Recovery (EDDR) subject matter experts provided a webinar on innovative procurement options as part of the Florida Housing Coalition’s July 2018 Hurricane Member Update webinar. The IBTS portion of the webinar focused on using bid books in procurement, a practice frequently used by IBTS when administering CDBG-DR programs. Bid books… Read more
When Hurricane Katrina ravaged the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005, it caused unfathomable damage. However, much of the wind damage throughout Louisiana could have been reduced if stronger building codes were in place. This case study summarizes the lessons learned following Hurricane Katrina and the steps taken by IBTS staff to develop and maintain new… Read more
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is committed to a comprehensive and coordinated resiliency effort to help improve the ability of buildings, infrastructure and communities to withstand the effects of a natural disaster and recover within reasonable expectations and manageable costs. The increasing number of significant natural disasters occurring over the past several years,… Read more
is one of the most difficult aspects of federal disaster recovery funding for both local stakeholders and citizens to grasp. It is a federal law that applies to all federal disaster assistance, including from , the , , and the , among others. applicants are more likely to have a DOB because they’ve already received funding… Read more
policies and procedures are critical to program success but can be challenging to develop. Although they can be daunting, as a program administrator it’s important to view them not just as another program requirement, but as a tool for helping your program run smoothly and for accomplishing your recovery goals. The following tips for… Read more
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